Before Adoption

Before we adopt out any of our rescue dogs, each dog has a thorough health screening done.  Each dog is vaccinated, tested for heartworms and put on prevention, and given a thorough physical exam.  If they are not already spayed or neutered, then they have that procedure preformed as well.  They are then groomed and bathed to remove any fleas and or ticks.  We do not give any oral treatment for fleas here at STRNA, we keep the premises treated and the dogs bathed regularly. 

Each dog is then assessed for temperment and evaluated to see if there are any specific behaviors that need to be corrected (barking, digging, dog aggression, etc.)  Then those behaviors are worked on as well as some basic obedience and house manners.  We also work on housebreaking too.  Each dog is either mostly housebroken (meaning they are papertrained or at least about 75% reliable when "at large" in the house) or they are crate trained. 

Each dogs personality is assessed to see what their likes and dislikes are. We put them in a variety of situations to see how they react, and their reactions are noted. Do they like men, women and children? Do they like other dogs? Males/Females? Do they like other animals? How do they react when treats, toys or food are taken away from them?  How do they react when startled?  Are they afraid of thunderstorms, cars or other loud noises? Do they walk well on a leash?  Are they possessive of their toys?  Then these situations are noted and/or corrected through training.   All this gives us an idea of what type of home this particular dog needs to go to. 

We then create a profile of what type of home this dog would be best suited in.  For example, a one person home with no children, no cats and a securely fenced yard might be what we are looking for in regard to a particular dog.  Each dog has particular traits that dictate what type of home it must go to, therefore when you contact rescue looking for a dog, you almost never get a "quick fix".  It takes some time and waiting on your part so that we will match the appropriate dog with you and your family.  We want the dog to be comfortable with you, and you to be comfortable with the dog.  But when we do make a match, in most cases its a perfect match, and our adoptive families are rewarded with a dog they can live with and a dog that they can love.